Electrochemically Initiated Tandem and Sequential Conjugate Addition Processes: One‐Pot Synthesis of Diverse Functionalized Isoindolinones

A tandem aldol–heterocyclization–rearrangement reaction and one‐pot sequential Michael addition allowed a direct access to highly functionalized 3‐isoindolinones containing quaternary carbon centers. The desired products are obtained under mild conditions and in short reaction times by galvanostatic electrolysis in a divided cell. A further tandem intramolecular heterocyclization reaction leading to synthetically relevant hemiaminal derivatives has been established with suitable Michael acceptors.     

Symphysiotomy or caesarean section after failed trial of assisted delivery

The perinatal and maternal outcomes of 65 symphysiotomies and 108 caesarean sections carried out after failed trial of assisted delivery at the Port Moresby General Hospital between 1988 and 1994 were retrospectively analyzed. There were no significant differences in perinatal outcomes between the treatment groups. There were no maternal deaths in either group. Mothers who had symphysiotomy had a longer postoperative stay in hospital but fewer complications requiring further surgery. There are many advantages of symphysiotomy, particularly in developing countries, following a failed trial of assisted delivery, provided the indications for it are strictly met. Obstetricians experienced in the technique are able to apply it at the optimal time, with long-term benefit to their patients, who thereby avoid the risks of pregnancy subsequent to caesarean section.     

Reverse engineering by CAD template fitting: study of a fast and robust template-fitting strategy

This paper considers the fitting of a CAD template model to tessellated data as strategy to implement a reverse engineering process that aims at the reconstruction of a parametric associative CAD model. The reconstruction methodology, called Template-Based CAD Reconstruction (TCRT), has been presented and fully discussed in a previous paper Buonamici et al. (J Comput Des Eng 5:145–159, 2018). The present paper focuses on the study of a fast and robust strategy to perform the fitting of the Template CAD Model to reference data. The study explores how different optimization strategies and evaluation metrics can affect a parametric CAD-fitting methodology. Two different optimization algorithms (PSO and GA) and three formulations of the objective function are tested to find the most effective combination. Reconstruction test cases are presented and discussed in the text.

     

The strategic mediator: a paradoxical role for a collaborative e-marketplace

The last 10 years have witnessed the emergence of electronic marketplaces as players that leverage new technologies to facilitate B2B internet-mediated collaborative business. Nowadays these players are augmenting their services from simple intermediation to include new inter-organizational relationships. The interest of this paper is to investigate the shift in the role and evolution of services proposed by e-marketplaces in response to the demands of the market participants. We carried out a longitudinal qualitative field study of an e-marketplace providing the outsourcing of the procurement process. Through the study of services evolving over time we show that, as marketplaces support increasingly complex business processes, the market participants begin to privilege the well connected small number to the convenience of the openness to the entire market. The participants see the marketplace as an exclusive club, the belonging to which provides a strategic advantage. The technology brought forth by the marketplace participates in shaping the strategic demands of the participants which in turn request the marketplace to redesign its own strategy. Profiting from this unintended demand, the e-marketplace assumes the paradoxical role of a strategic mediator: an agent who upholds and heightens the fences of the transactions instead of leveling them. The results have implication in shaping how we see the role of technology as strategic or commoditized.

Escaping ‘localisms’ in IT sourcing: tracing changes in institutional logics in an Italian firm

Organizations are limited in their choices by the institutional environment in which they operate. This is particularly true for IT sourcing decisions that go beyond cost considerations and are constrained by traditions, geographical location, and social networks. This article investigates how a company can disentangle itself from the constraints of the institutional environment. We do so drawing on a longitudinal case study of an Italian SME active in the steel industry that successfully changed its institutionally sound, but increasingly inefficient, IT sourcing practice. Our main result suggests that by attending steadily to institutional logics, organizations can become selective in how the institutional environment influences them and act more purposefully in their decisions. In particular, through the creation of companywide IT management competencies and targeted hiring practices, organizations can strike a balance between the different institutional logics guiding IT sourcing decisions and eventually shift from the dominant logic of localism to a logic of market efficiency. This change does not depend from a choice but rather builds on a process through which IT management competences are slowly integrated in the organization.     

CMOS-MEMS resonant pressure sensors: optimization and validation through comparative analysis

An optimized CMOS-MEMS resonant pressure sensor with enhanced sensitivity at atmospheric pressure has been reported in this paper. The presented work reports modeling and characterization of a resonant pressure sensor, based on the variation of the quality factor with pressure. The relevant regimes of air flow have been determined by the Knudsen number, which is the ratio of the mean free path of the gas molecule to the characteristic length of the device. The sensitivity has been monitored for the resonator design from low vacuum to atmospheric levels of air pressure. This has been accomplished by reducing the characteristic length and optimization of other parameters for the device. While the existing analytical model has been adapted to simulate the squeeze film damping effectively and it is validated at higher values of air pressure, it fails to compute the structural damping mechanisms dominant in the molecular flow regime, i.e. at lower levels of air pressure. This discrepancy has been solved by finite element modeling that has incorporated both structural and film damping effects. The sensor has been designed with an optimal geometry of 140 × 140 × 8 µm having 6 × 6 perforations along the row and column of the plate, respectively, for maximum Q, with an effective mass of 0.4 µg. An enhanced quality factor of 60 and reduced damping coefficient of 4.34 µNs/m have been obtained for the reported device at atmospheric pressure. The sensitivity of the manufactured device is approximately −0.09 at atmospheric pressure and increases to −0.3 at 40 kPa i.e. in the lower pressures of slip flow regime. The experimental measurements of the manufactured resonant pressure sensor have been compared with that of the analytical and finite element modeling to validate the optimization procedure. The device has been manufactured using standard 250 nm CMOS technology followed by an in-house BEOL metal-layer release through wet etching.

     

Thermal Deposition of Intact Tetrairon(III) Single‐Molecule Magnets in High‐Vacuum Conditions

A tetrairon(III) single‐molecule magnet is deposited using a thermal evaporation technique in high vacuum. The chemical integrity is demonstrated by time‐of‐flight secondary ion mass spectrometry on a film deposited on Al foil, while superconducting quantum interference device magnetometry and alternating current susceptometry of a film deposited on a kapton substrate show magnetic properties identical to the pristine powder. High‐frequency electron paramagnetic resonance spectra confirm the characteristic behavior for a system with S = 5 and a large Ising‐type magnetic anisotropy. All these results indicate that the molecules are not damaged during the deposition procedure keeping intact the single‐molecule magnet behavior.     

Tempering of Martensite and Subsequent Redistribution of Cr,Mn, Ni,Mo, and Si Between Cementite and Martensite Studied by Magnetic Measurements

Tempering reactions in ternary Fe-2M-0.7C steels (M=Cr, Ni, Mn, Mo, and Si) were studied by correlative dilatometry and magnetic measurements at room temperature. Magnetic measurements were conducted after tempering at progressively higher temperatures. Based on the magnitude of demagnetization in the temperature range associated with the tempering stage I contraction, Mn- and Si-added steels formed the largest and smallest fractions of transition carbides, respectively. Estimation of the magnetization of paraequilibrium cementite indicated that Cr, Mn, and Mo reduced the magnetization while Ni increased it. In the presence of Si, the decomposition of retained austenite and cementite formation were shifted to higher temperatures. At temperatures above approximately 723 K (450 °C), the enrichment of cementite with Mn and Cr significantly reduced the total magnetization. In the Mo-added steel, on the other hand, the magnetization slightly increased implying the formation of ferromagnetic Mo-rich carbides. For the Ni- and Si-added steels, the magnetization remained almost constant indicating minimal redistribution of Ni and Si subsequent to the formation of cementite. The possibility of analyzing the latter redistribution is one of the main advantages of sequential tempering and magnetic measurements at room temperature compared to in situ thermomagnetic measurements.